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Who may adopt?

Written by JFG

Tuesday, 25 August 2009 09:48

As promised a week ago, today my focus of discussion is on who may adopt a child? Certain people are allowed to adopt because children deserve, and rightly so, a safe and conducive environment for their proper growth and development. If adoption is thrown to all and sundry (without subjecting applicants to rigorous vetting) the country may end up with all kinds of child psychopathologies hence invalidating ambitions and aspirations neatly encapsulated in Vision 2016. The vision advocates for a prosperous nation. Prosperity remains a mirage and a melancholy chant if a country has dozens of child psychopathologies since resources may end up being channeled to addressing these psychopathologies instead of financing important national projects. In terms of the Adoption of Children Act 1952, in particularity Section 3 of the Act, persons enumerated below may adopt. These include a widow/widower, unmarried /divorced persons, and a married person whose spouse has been mentally defective for a period of seven years immediately preceding the adoption application. Any married person who is on separation by a judicial decree may also be allowed to adopt a child. Lastly, a wife and her husband may adopt a child if they wish to do so. Note that these persons listed above should be at least 25 years of age and not below. In the event it is discovered after an adoption order has been made that the adoptive parent was less than the stipulated age, the order will be set aside by the High Court. For further clarity on this submission, I refer you to the South African Cases of Ex parte Commissioner for Child Welfare: In re Adoption Volczer 1960(2) S.A. 312(o) and Ex parte Commissioner of Child Welfare: In re Adopted Child 1966(2)S.A 301(c ). Dear reader, kindly peruse these cases for protracted understanding of the issues discussed herein In furtherance of this discourse, I must indicate that a married couple may jointly adopt a child of one of them notwithstanding the child’s age, provided that the spouse is at least 15 years older than the child of his wife and 10 years older than the child of her husband. The pivotal object of these age requirements is to attain an age disparity between parent and child akin to that found in nature, and to vehemently discourage sexual exploitation as far as possible. These are some of the important factors that are always considered upon examination of an application for an adoption order. Prepare yourself for ‘Legal Effects of Adoption” as it is the topic I shall discuss next week. I wish to pen off by assuring all those who presented their issues about adoption to me subsequent to the previous article, that I will endeavour to assist them. Morategi Richo Montgomery Social Worker 2 Tutume Primary Hospital 71243470/2987249 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it NB: the Author hereof wrote the article in his personal capacity. Mr. Montgomery is based at Tutume Primary Hospital as a Social Worker and is also a focal person for Botswana Social Workers Association at Tutume Sub-District. < Prev   Next >

Last Updated on Tuesday, 25 August 2009 10:40